For speaker questions: Regan Parker - speakers@readingroundup.org
For vendor questions: Karly Wilkins - vendors@readingroundup.org
Anything else: Kara Reiman - admin@readingroundup.org
The conference accepts vendors and exhibitors for our conference. We provide ample break time for attendee interactions. If you are interested in joining us this year, please reach out to vendors@readingroundup.org.
Past Conference Themes and Keynotes
2025 Rajani LaRocca
2024 "Building Blocks" with Lupine and Katahdin winners: Alexandra Hinrichs, Jamie Hogan, Matt Tavares, Lynn Plourde, Jennifer Richardson Jacobs
2023 “Level Up” with Jason Reynolds, author
2022 “Rediscover Joy” with author Alex Gino
2021 “Rise Up” with Leslea Newman, Author
2020 “Building Bridges” with Saadia Faruqi, author (virtual)
2019 “Connections: Looking Back & Reaching Forward” with author Sharon Creech
2018 “Maine Perspectives: What’s Your Story?” with Dr. Margaret Read MacDonald, storyteller and author
2017 “Rethinking Literacy: Multiple Literacies for the 21st Century” with John Schumacher (a.k.a. Mr. Schu), blogger and part-time lecturer at Rutgers University, and the Reading Ambassador of School Libraries for Scholastic Book Fair
2016 “Celebrating Our Differences: Diversity in Children’s Literature and Services” with author Gary Schmidt
2015 “Blurring the Boundaries: Telling the Truth in Nonfiction” with author Tanya Lee Stone
2014 “Everything We Need to Know We Learned from Children’s Books Past and Present “ with author Anita Silvey
2013 “Letting Kids Lead” with author Kate Messner
2012 “Literacy in the 21st Century” with author Deborah Heiligman
2011 “Why I Write for Children” with author Andrew Clements
2010 “If the Art Fits” with illustrator Kevin Hawkes
2009 “Back to the Future” with author Lois Lowry
2008 “Can Read But Don’t Wanna” with Pat Feehan, Professor, University of South Carolina’s School of Library and Information Science.
2007 “Dewey or Don’t We: Essential Nonfiction” with Susan Campbell Bartoletti
2006 “Reaching Out to Readers” with author and instructor at Simmons College Michael Sullivan
2005 “Poetry: Reading, Rhyming & Rhythm” with author Ashley Bryan
2004 “Looking Back: Experiencing History” with author Doreen Rappaport
2003 “Beyond Library Walls” with Carole Fiore Management Analyst/Youth Services Consultant, State Library of Florida
2002 "The Joy of Reading" with noted author and lecturer Betsy Hearne, Professor of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois.
2001 "Magic of Storytelling" with author and storyteller, Margaret Read MacDonald
2000 “Connecting Kids and Books” with author and YA services consultant, Patrick Jones
1999 “The Art of the Book” with author and librarian Julie Cummins
1998 “Beyond the Stars: Exploring the Best in Children’s Literature” with Roger Sutton, Editor-in-Chief, The Horn Book Magazine
1997 “Truth is Stranger than Fiction: Reaching Readers through Nonfiction” with author Patricia G. Lauber
1996 “Corralling Humor in the Library” with author and columnist Michael Cart
1995 “New Connections” with Melody Allen, Library Program Specialist, Rhode Island Department of State Library Services
1994 “Forms and Faces of Diversity in Children’s and Young Adult Literature” with Maggie Russell, Managing Editor, Parents’ Choice.
1993 “Building Bridges” with Susan Bloom, and Cathryn Mercier, Center for the Study of Children’s Literature, Simmons College, Boston.
1992 “Current Trends in the World of Children’s Books” with Anita Silvey, former Editor-in-Chief, The Horn Book Magazine
1991 “Books for Children and Young Adults”
1990 “Reading Aloud or Alone: Choosing Books for Children and Young Adults”